My name is Rappel AMA

keym

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 2:55 pm

Rappel wrote:

No. We're here only 5.5 years.

But everyone in my neighborhood was. We bought a house 4 doors down from the Fogels' place.

It's the same layout. We had to modify it to bring it up to code, and DH only slept easy after we changed its shape.

----

The Fogels were the most famous tragedy of Itamar, but by no means the only. There have been 21 people murdered in Itamar, mostly from 2001-2011. That affects a community strongly.

I dream of one day having the ability to interview many of the residents here, and to collate their stories into a book. It would be an epic read.

Ooh I would read that.

What do you mean by changing the layout?

SuperWify

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 2:56 pm

Rappel wrote:

I like his attitude Smile

he sounds like a direct young man. Where were you based on Simchat Torah?

I'm not sure what you mean by the women's ambulance section, but I'm all ears. Smile

it sounds nice.

I do my MDA shifts in the Yarkon region, so we get all kinds of teams, and all kinds of calls. In my town, we're too small for a shift schedule, so I'm on call 24/7...The other volunteers are all drafted now, but during peacetime, we share the work, except for births - they're all men, so I get those. The driver just drives.

Direct is an understatement. lol. The child has no idea what political correctness is. He’ll learn soon enough given the current climate….

I mixed it up. It’s United Hatzolah! Just heard about it from the wife of Eli Beer https://israelrescue.org/en_GB.....tive/

I was in the Merkaz. We had plenty of “rocketships”.

24/7!!!?! How long was your training? Wait, you deliver babies?

Coffee Addict

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 3:39 pm

Rappel, I am also a secret admirer of yours!

I love your authenticity and your humour! You’re quirky and funny in a great way!

How did you meet your husband? It sounds like he grew up in a different household than you did. Or maybe I am wrong?

How big is itamar? How many families? You have your own schools and yeshivas?

Very Happy

NechaMom

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 5:19 pm

Coffee Addict wrote:

I sure hope he grew up in a different household. Wink

Tao

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 6:03 pm

Rappel wrote:

Am I that bad? LOL

I really think that each of us have an instinct for our tafkid, and if someone doesn't "hear the call," then aliyah is probably not part of their tafkid right now.

I do have some well-researched opinions on the topics of yishuv haaretz and kibush haaretz, but I try not to bore imamother with the length and breadth of them. You'll have to meet me in real life to really sit down for a chavruta/chabura on the subject.

I think one of the mitzvahs (is it a mitzvah exactly?) that I keep really well is im eshkachech yerushalayim - I definitely think and dream about Israel and especially Yerushalayim on a very regular basis! My heart is very much there. Many times I get teary speaking or thinking about it (especially when I'm pregnant, lol)
I don't think we will make aliyah until Moshiach comes for a number of reasons, although you never know....but I kind of have to admit that is one of my main reasons for wanting him to come.
It's funny, the one thing that stands out in my mind from my seminary interview all those years ago is that the principal asked me, "Do you like Eretz Yisrael?" It caught me off guard and I just answered from my heart, "I LOVE Eretz Yisrael!" She told me right away, "I can hear in your voice that you really mean that!"
Must've filtered down to my kids though bec they want to go too. My husband asked my 5yo son on Shabbos, "Where do you want to go if we could travel anywhere?" and he said straight away, "Eretz Yisrael. Because Moshiach will be there!" Lol. I think they think Moshiach lives in EY (Maybe he does!)

Anyway. You sound awesome like others have said. And I'm in awe of all the wives of the people who manage on their own and allow their husbands to help protect Hashem's land!

saltandvinegar

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 7:11 pm

I always enjoy your posts. Not sure if this was answered, but if you grew up in Brooklyn in a "typical" BY family, how did you end up in Itamar? Can you tell us more about your community? Were you always so pro Israel? I'd love to be "bored" by your articles on yishuv haaretz. My husband is Israeli and we want to make aliyah this year. ETA: What type of sefardi are you? I saw you follow yalkut yosef for halacha. What kinds of food do you make for Shabbos?

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 7:54 pm

keym wrote:

Ooh I would read that.

What do you mean by changing the layout?

We had to add on a bomb shelter, which made the house a little different.

(we used to joke that if we ever needed a bomb shelter in Itamar, the country would be in such a state that we would never have needed to build one according to Israel's rules in the first place. The joke seems less funny now.)

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 8:00 pm

SuperWify wrote:

Good for them!

I wish MDA and UH were under one umbrella - they work really well together. Hatzalah has a lot of motorcycle first responders, and MDA has a lot of ambulances. Together, their ability to handle any case would be astounding.

24/7. We're only 4 EMTs out here. My training was a 250 hours EMT course, including 5 practice shifts.

Yup, I deliver babies. Our town is a 40 minute ambulance drive from the nearest hospital, so some women are caught off guard.

(Some women do intentional home births, but they arrange a team that's appropriate for their needs, so the chances of them needing us or the army paramedics are very slim.)

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 8:12 pm

lostmyoldSN wrote:

How did you meet your dh?

I went to Rutgers University for one year between seminary and Aliyah - I had an idea that I was going to get a degree in combustion engineering (I like explosions), and then make aliyah with financial stability. I ended up making aliyah at the end of that year, because I was concerned about getting stuck in the States.

I became acquainted with DH there, though we didn't date at the time. He was a martial arts teacher, and a Criminal Justice major, whom moved in the party crowd - in short, he was cool.

He had made a deal with his parents: if he got a degree, then they would pay for him to learn in Yeshiva in Israel. He had completed his giyur by then, but had never really had a chance to delve formally into Judaism, nor to study in a shiur context. He wanted it.

So I made Aliyah to Akko at the same time that he came to Yeshiva in yerushalayim. We ended up renewing our acquaintance, and started hiking together, and climbing up abandoned buildings and construction sites and cliffs on the weekends. Between hikes and cheap falafel , we fell in love, and the rest is history. Smile

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 8:21 pm

Coffee Addict wrote:

We did grow up differently. Public school boy meets Bais Yaakov girl -- when we announced our engagement, anyone whom knew both of us thought it was a joke.

Itamar is growing, BH. 150 families in the town, and a further 150 in the hilltops. They're breaking ground below my house for another 100 homes, and I'm really excited for Itamar to double itself.

We have an elementary school/Talmud Torah. After 8th grade, the kids dorm out for high school.

The high school here is a "youth village" for boys whom fell into the cracks of Israeli society. One thing I love: the town is very closely linked with the high school, so the boys get a lot of healthy family context while they're struggling to grow, and I think that adds a lot of stability to their lives. They really get a lot of individual attention here, BH.

There's also a Yeshiva gevoha, with very serious learners, led by the brilliant Rav Yehoshua Van Dyke.

Both the high school and the Yeshiva end up being pipelines for new residents here -- a lot of students feel at home in the town, and want to stay forever. Can I blame them?

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 8:23 pm

gingybread wrote:

When you met your dh, did he want to make Aliyah also?

He wasn't against it, but neither was he set on it; he didn't have a direction in life yet. His plan after Yeshiva was to go live with his friends in Woodstock, and then to see where he'd go from there. I slightly derailed that plan Laugh

Last edited by Rappel on Tue, Dec 19 2023, 9:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 8:35 pm

shanarishona wrote:

Hi Rappel!
How do you go on MDA calls, if your husband is not home and you have only littles?

And how did you get the knowledge to organize all this emergency preparedness stuff?

If my FIL is around, or the kids happen to be in school, then it's easy.

If I'm with my littles, and a critical call comes in, then I occasionally use my neighbors.

During peacetime, 90 percent of the calls happen in the middle of the night anyway, so if DH is there, I can go. He's going back to working a shift schedule after the war, so goodbye nights and shabbatot... But he'll hopefully complete his certificate to teach English soon, and then we'll go back to normal life.

Emergency preparedness. Hiding

there were no instructions, no trainings. I took the international protocols for mass casualty incidents, adjusted then for our region, and then created a lot of protocols and instructions and plans so we would know what to do under different scenarios. I had to coordinate with the army and MDA, so they know, for example, where we would gather our injured, or which vehicles could theoretically be used as emergency transport vehicles under fire. I assembled a medical team from the nurses of the town, and taught them how to be an emergency trauma response force. I campaigned for donations, and designed and stocked an emergency medical supplies center. I also trained the general populace in first aid, and how to get help quickly in our region - key issues when you live in a rural community.

I actually really enjoyed the task. Management, team building, and impossible problems really suit me. I'm hoping I can find work in a similar context.

Rappel

Mon, Dec 18 2023, 8:39 pm

Tao wrote:

I'm genuinely impressed.

Before I went to seminary, I liked EY in theory, but I hated the satanic State with a passion, and I would never have moved here. Funny how things shift...